


In The Midst Of Amazement

by bananajun



Category: EXO (Band), NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, ChanBaek - Freeform, F/F, Im bad at writing, M/M, Mentioned KaiSoo - Freeform, Minor Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Minor Im Yoona/Kwon Yuri, Mutual Pining, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Yoonyul, confusing plot, minor yoonyul, nomin, renmin, renmin friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-23 20:07:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19708489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bananajun/pseuds/bananajun
Summary: Just how did Huang Renjun go from checking out books at his local library to helping an annoying pink fairy save her non-existent world to meeting the most wholesome boy alive in said non-existent world?





	In The Midst Of Amazement

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is the first work I've ever posted on ao3. Nctzens and ExoLs (and Sones?) welcome! Please give me any criticism you find in my work to help me improve as a writer. Enjoy!

The night air was light. Renjun expected it to be violent like it was just a few hours earlier, but it seemed like when the sky’s cheerful blue turned into a midnight black, the wind’s rampage diminished and settled down into a low breeze. 

Renjun was grateful for it, because when he decided he needed a break from studying he was  _ not _ looking forward to running around in that kind of weather. 

It took more than a few minutes to walk from the dorms to the local library, but it wasn’t so bad, because the night air was refreshingly cool and Renjun heard other people chattering in the late-hour cafe around the corner that he always got his milk tea at during the night. But tonight, he didn’t feel like going there. All he wanted was a few comic books to clear his mind after studying (read: wasting time) for so long. 

After glazing over the pages of the Math textbook for hours, all his mind could think of was  _ algebra algebra algebra _ and the formula for  _ If Scott the first grader has three friends and they all want his candy and he gives twice as much candy plus six to Emma than Jean and Logan has four times less the amount of candy plus seven than Jean and Scott has three hundred and fifty candies how likely is it that Emma is a gold digger of a first grader? _

Renjun buried his dark purple cap deeper into his honey-brown hair with a frown. His roommate, Jeno, right before Renjun left the dorms, had asked him to buy him a cup of strawberry slush at the cafe. But  _ just _ when Renjun had exited the dorms, he realized he had not picked up his wallet before leaving. Not that he felt guilty, or bothered to go back and get it, because Jeno was kind of an asshole. Scratch that. Jeno was a major, dick-sucking asshole. But his worry came from the fact that he knew Jeno was going to badger him about it when he got back. He didn’t care at that point, though, and he could deal with it later by falling asleep quickly. 

The moon was full today, he noticed. It glowed big and round and had a silver tinge to it, illuminating the street lights with a pale hue. It was so close that Renjun thought if he tried to paint it, he would be able to perfectly portray all of the darker gray tones and blobs inside of the roundness. He didn’t get to see the moon much, these days.

As he approached the door of the library, his attention shifted to the short but handsome man who worked at the library standing outside of the door. He pulled something out of his pocket--a key, Renjun realized.

The Chinese boy ran up to him, making the man’s wide eyes bulge. He stepped back when Renjun practically bounced onto him.

“Kyungsoo-ssi!”

“Erm, hey, Renjun?” Kyungsoo backed away shyly, as usual, never that enthusiastic about physical contact.

“Can you give me a pair?” Renjun asked, pleading him. 

Kyungsoo sighed disapprovingly, handing him an extra pair of keys. “Return them tomorrow.” 

Renjun often enjoyed going to the library, and as a result, he had gotten to know most of the volunteers who worked there. Do Kyungsoo was a young man who graduated from Renjun’s University last year, and when he started working at the library, Renjun had gotten to know him and made it a habit to bump into him at least once a week.

Renjun had actually known Kyungsoo’s boyfriend first, Kim Jongin, who was in his last year of University. But he hadn’t made the connection that Jongin’s, ‘cute, angry penguin boyfriend’ was the same as Kyungsoo, who used to glower at him when he stayed at the library past closing hours. He only found out a few months ago.

Renjun grinned at him gratefully and walked into the library, finding the light switch and turning it on. Like a row of dominoes, the elegant, colorful, translucent ceiling lights slowly flickered on from one side of the room to another, showing off the pale golden walls and neatly color-coded bookshelves. 

He took a breath. It had been so long since he was able to experience utter silence. During the morning, Jeno screeching loudly into his phone. During classes, professors rambling about topics he didn’t particularly care to comprehend. During lunch, people whisper to him as he tried to eat his damn food. Even at the dorms, when he was trying to study, fucking Jeno just wouldn’t shut his mouth while he played Overwatch with his buffoon friends. 

Looking back, the moment Jeno put his probably overpriced headset on, Renjun should have ran to the library to study. 

Renjun supposed, now, that maybe it didn’t matter. Jeno could play all the games he wanted to because it’s not like Renjun could even dream of doing good academically anyways.

His phone vibrated in his sweater pocket. Looking away from the Marvel section he was currently checking, he gripped his phone with a hand and brought it up to see. It was a text from his mom; he rolled his eyes. It read,  **Study for your test.**

Then another one.  **Your brother always put studying first.**

Renjun exhaled in frustration and resisted the urge to type in a quick reply that would  _ surely _ be shady in some shape or form, but he decided against it. Giving the peering boy (why is he still there?) a small wave of farewell, he continued to shuffle around the different book sections to find one he wanted.

Satisfied with an X-men Black comic chosen from the shelves, he stood up from his kneeling position and made his way towards the sliding door. He passed the staff room and then paused for a moment to look down; there was an old book on the floor. 

Irked by someone carelessly leaving a book to collect dust on the ground, he inserted the comic under his arm and reached down to pick up the surprisingly light book with both arms. 

Renjun inspected it lightly. It seemed to be of an older style. He ran a finger along the side of the book and found it to be sewn together with meadow green string. The cover was made of honey brown leather, and in the center was a square-shaped threaded patch of light green. Fancy purple text read  _ The Vaguely Memorized Spells. _ There was no author on the page, only the caption  _ A world yet to be discovered _ . 

_ What kind of book doesn’t have an author?  _ Intrigued, Renjun assumed it to be a fantasy book. He flipped the cover open to reveal a whoosh of dust spreading into the air, making him cough in disgust. Dust clogged up his nose, making him wheeze. 

Eventually, he got over himself and glued his eyes to the words on the first page. Unconsciously, he read them out loud.

“In order to find this world, we need to let our mind take control and our body follow along. I promise to serve nature, my mind, my spirit, my soul, my heart, and my blood.”

Renjun nearly laughed. He’d only looked at the very first page, yet it was already some cheesy nonsense with no real meaning.

The University student looked around the spacious library, searching for the fantasy section where he could return the book to its proper place. But before another thought could cross his mind, he was distracted by a loud, whirring suck that made him leap in surprise. Turning around, Renjun found himself staring at a swirling, dark blue hole, alight with shimmering star-like blobs of white. With every whirl, they were sucked into the center forcefully. And before he knew it, the force of the sucking was dreadfully slowly dragging him into the blue hole. 

Renjun wanted to scream to get Kyungsoo’s attention, but instead, he clutched onto the book, his man purse, and closed his eyes in fear as he melted into a hole of freezing nothingness.


End file.
